Coming Home
by ScarlettKate1013
Summary: This was originally posted at The Princess and the Sailor. It's about a thousand years old, but I decided to dust it off and post it anyway. This is a Bo and Carly what-if about the trip back to Salem from LA when Bo went to help Kimberly fight her cancer. See, I told you it was about a thousand years old...


_I own neither DOOL nor any of its characters. They remain the property of Corday & Co., NBC and probably a whole host of others who are not me. Final warning, this is a story about Bo and Carly so if that isn't your thing, turn away now. Compliments and constructive criticism are most welcome, but if you just want to bash Carly, please move along. _

_**Coming Home**_

Carly Manning stared at her reflection in the mirror and applied just a touch more lip gloss. The shade was called _Naked_ , and she had every intention of spending the rest of her evening in just that way. Bo was on his way home, and Carly couldn't wait.

They'd spoken on the phone multiple times every day that Bo had been in California. She had made a nuisance of herself to Bo's doctors, fanatically checking on his condition and that of his sister, Kimberly, ready to fly out to L.A. at a moment's notice if the doctors had given any indication that Bo wasn't doing well after the surgery. Thankfully there had been no complications, and Bo was presently somewhere in the friendly skies, making his way back to her.

They'd been nearly a month apart, and Carly was feeling the separation in more ways than one. The mere thought of being in Bo's arms set her body thrumming. Throughout her day, her mind had been on her patients, but the baser part of her brain had been pinpointed to her reunion with her lover and little else. Simply put, she was ready to jump out of her skin and jump Bo the moment she laid eyes on him.

Considering that her first sight of him would come in a crowded airport, she knew she'd have to rein in her more ardent desires until they could get somewhere a little more private, like the car park. Hell, if push came to shove, she wasn't above finding a maintenance closet for a little appetizer of sorts to take the edge off her arousal. They could get to the main course at home.

 _Home._ That term gave pause to her hormonal thoughts. She'd been crashing with Adrienne for the past couple of weeks, and had stayed away from Bo's house. She refused to think of it as Hope's any longer, and when she was there with Bo, it felt like home. It didn't matter who had lived there before her because Bo was her home. Without him, though, it was just a structure, a dwelling, and it was stark and lonely. Now that Bo was coming back, well, she planned on reuniting with him in every room of the house.

The time apart from Bo hadn't been all bad, however. She'd actually managed to show a side of herself to Melanie that didn't make her daughter run screaming for the hills. She could talk to Daniel again without seeing hurt and betrayal reflected back at her. Strange run-ins with Chloe aside, at least Carly felt she'd made headway with Melanie and Daniel.

She wanted so badly to be a mother to Melanie, to be the one that her daughter turned to for help and advice. And she wanted to be friends with the father of her daughter. Melanie needed both her parents, and Carly didn't want any lingering resentment Daniel may feel towards her to negatively affect their child. Her natural inclination was to push, to prod and insert herself into Melanie's life. Carly realized that following that path would be instant repellant to her daughter.

So she had curbed her instincts and allowed Melanie to approach her on her own terms. Thankfully it seemed to be working. She, Daniel and Melanie had enjoyed some pleasant conversations, and Melanie was unfolding a little more every day, like a flower to the sun. Maybe, just maybe, the pendulum was swinging in Carly's favor.

Carly smacked her lips to perfect their glossy coating and dropped the tube into her small evening bag. Stepping back from the mirror, she twirled once, pleased with the overall effect of her dress. It was gauzy and girly, a white sundress that offered a hint of generous cleavage before falling gracefully over curving hips, coming to a halt just above her knees. Her feet were encased in silver, strappy high-heeled sandals. Her hair shimmered, falling in loose waves over her shoulders, and her make-up was minimal. Logically she knew she didn't have to dress up for Bo. She could show up in ratty jeans and a faded tank top, and it wouldn't matter to her lover. Still, there was part of her that wanted to wow him, really knock him for a loop when they finally saw one another again. And she could admit to being enough of a girly-girl that every once in a while, she just wanted to look pretty. Nodding at her reflection a final time in the mirror and thoroughly satisfied with the results of her efforts, she spun on her four-inch heels and headed out the door of the doctor's lounge. She pulled open the door to exit, only to run in to Daniel making his way into the room.

"Hey," he greeted her somewhat distracted. Then his gaze swept over her and he blinked, initial surprise turning into a look of genuine male appreciation of an attractive representation of the female form. "Wow! You look…wow. Where are you going?"

Carly smiled. "Bo's coming home. His flight should be in," she paused, grabbing Daniel's arm to check the ever-present watch on his wrist. "Now! Crap, I've got to go or I'll be late. See you later!" She called over her shoulder, and Daniel could only watch, slightly amused, as she hurried over to the bank of elevators.

Carly furiously punched the "down" button repeatedly in her haste, and Daniel couldn't resist yelling out, "That won't make it come any faster!" Not deigning to look at him, Carly raised her right hand and delicately flipped him off.

"Hey!" Daniel yelled, pretending to take offense. "That hurt! I thought we were friends." The elevator doors opened and Carly stepped into the car, once again facing Daniel.

"We'll be friends tomorrow. Right now, I'm in a hurry!" She waggled her fingers at him in a little wave of farewell as the doors slid shut. Daniel laughed, shaking his head. He had no feelings for Carly beyond friendship and respect. But the way she looked tonight, he envied Bo for just a split second at getting to come home to a woman like Carly. And he seriously hoped that the other man was well-rested. Judging from the vibe Carly was throwing off, he doubted either of them would be getting much sleep.

Bo made his way off the plane, the backpack that had served as his carry-on bag thrown over his shoulder. He silently pleaded with the people in front of him, a couple trying unsuccessfully to herd three young children up the walkway, to hurry. Carly was waiting for him, and Bo was running low on patience. He needed to see her, wanted to put his hands – among other parts of his anatomy – on the woman he loved. This family, with their strollers and diaper bags and Goldfish crackers spilling all over the place, was seriously hampering his progress. Mercifully, the path widened, and Bo was able to squeeze past the young family and all but sprinted the remaining distance until he burst forth into the busy hub of the airport terminal. Turning right, he dodged other travelers, pushed his way through a rather loud group of teenaged tourists and made it to the top of the stairway that would lead him – at last – to Carly. He didn't think he had the fortitude to wait on the escalator.

Running down the stairs, he rounded the corner towards the baggage claim – and stopped dead in his tracks at the absolute vision before him. Chestnut waves framed a beautiful face with eyes the color of the sea after a storm. A dress of some kind of filmy white material flowed over wicked dips and curves before giving way to long and lean legs. And the damn sandals she was wearing all but screamed, "Fuck me!"

Dimly aware that there were other people present who likely would not appreciate the Commissioner of Police throwing his lover to the floor of the Salem International Airport and ravaging her, Bo barely withstood the desire to do just that. The noisy group of teenagers he'd passed on his way to Carly had made their way downstairs, and the sudden silence that descended on the bunch made Bo take notice. Every single male member of the group – and a few of the females, too – were openly ogling the incredibly gorgeous woman in front of them. Out of the corner of his eye, Bo witnessed one of the girls slapping the chest of a boy Bo ascertained must be the girl's boyfriend. The teens and Bo were not alone in their perusal of one Carly Manning. Virtually every other man in the airport had paused long enough to cast glances varying from polite interest to unabashed leering. One man, firmly ensconced in the latter group, murmured to his buddy, "Damn! I'd like to get a piece of that!"

The speaker had the unfortunate luck to be standing right next to Bo when he made his observations. _Back off, she's mine,_ Bo thought, fixing the creep with a steely glare. Only when the moron took a step back did Bo realize he'd actually voiced his thoughts.

"Sorry, man," the quaking loser stuttered, quickly making a break for it with his traveling companion when Bo swung his gaze back to Carly. The woman in question only had eyes for Bo and stood smiling at him, seemingly unaware of every other set of eyes skimming over her. Instantly forgetting everything in the presence of that smile, Bo let his backpack fall to the ground and opened his arms. As though she'd been waiting for him to do so, Carly ran to Bo and threw her arms around his neck. Her body instantly molded into his, voluptuous curves giving way to hard planes, and every single nerve ending in Bo's body was hyper aware of Carly. God, but he loved this woman. He leaned back to tell her so and was surprised to find tears in her crystalline eyes.

"What's this?" Bo tenderly brushed away a tear with his thumb.

Smiling in spite of the tears, Carly whispered, "I'm just so happy you're home."

"I am home, Princess," Bo told her, and it was clear to both of them that he wasn't just talking about Salem. Unable to resist, Bo took Carly's mouth in a kiss that began gentle enough, but quickly transformed into a heated meeting of lips and teeth and tongues. Hands migrated into dangerous territory, and Bo somehow tore himself away from Carly's mouth long enough to prevent them doing anything that would get them arrested. Panting, Carly looked up at him, emerald eyes filled with promises of sweet seduction and endless pleasure. Bo kissed her hard and quick, and snagged her hand and his forgotten back pack at the same time. "Come on," he urged her, pulling her behind him in the direction of the baggage claim. "Let's get my suitcase and get out of here." The airport gods must have been in a favorable mood because Bo caught sight of his suitcase as soon as they reached the spinning carousel of luggage. He grabbed the bag, took Carly's hand once more, and the two of them made their way happily to the nearest exit.

They didn't talk much on the way home. Bo had driven, Carly's hand resting placidly on his jean-clad thigh. Their only stop was to pick up some Chinese take-out for dinner. Once they were safely ensconced within the house, Bo and Carly lost no time reacquainting themselves with one another. Clothing was discarded haphazardly, with the exception of her shoes.

"Leave 'em on," Bo had growled. Then he took her on the floor of the living room.

The shoes did eventually come off, but not before Bo had whispered every lust-inducing thought her footwear had inspired when he'd first glimpsed her at the airport. Sometime after the fourth bout of lovemaking, hunger had driven them back to the living room where they sat naked and wrapped in a blanket in front of the couch, eating the now cold Chinese food. Their appetites for food sated, they had stumbled up the stairs to continue the satiation of their more carnal desires.

Cocooned now in the peaceful solitude of their bedroom, Bo watched Carly sleep on the pillow next to his. Sliding closer to her, he slid his arm around her waist and fitted his body to the shape of hers. As he drifted off to sleep, he thought how good it was to finally be home with Carly, where he belonged.


End file.
